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Time is the Path to Strength	By : Repiece Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 47111 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 12
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 18
- 19
- 20
Chapter 19: Natsu Crashes the Wedding

Natsu couldn't believe he couldn't do anything to help Mirajane. He struggled against the spell that was cast on him. He couldn't move. He just couldn't. 'What the hell is this! Why can't I move?' He tried using his magic to break free, but that didn't work either. He then noticed that it felt weird when he tried to use his magic to break free. 'My magic...I...I can't feel...' It stunned him. It was almost like his magic was being sealed away and whenever he tried to use it, the spell was blocking his magic from escaping. 'This spell is acting like a cage...a cage to keep my magic sealed...' He growled in frustration. 'Damn it all...I can't believe I let that bastard take Mira away! I need to find a way to remove this spell from me...' He thought about it and remembered that there was somebody that knew a lot about spells right in Fairy Tail. 'But how do I...'

"Hey Natsu! What happened! What was that loud booming sound!" Natsu's eyes widened when he heard Happy's voice behind him.

"Happy! I'm in Mira's room! I need your help!" He yelled and waited for a few moments until Happy arrived.

"Natsu! W-What happened here?" He asked, looking in horror at what happened to the wall.

"I'm glad to see you, buddy! Hurry I need you to go get Levy!" He said. Happy tilted his head slightly in confusion at his request as he walked around him to look at him.

"Huh? Why? And where is Mira?" He continued playing 100 questions and looked around hoping to see Mirajane somewhere.

"I'll explain everything later! Just go get Levy! I need her help!"

"Why?"

"Because I need her help get this spell of of me."

"Oh...oh yeah...what are those weird marks?" He asked, just noticing them now.

"Would you just go already!" Natsu yelled, getting slightly annoyed.

"But what if she is sleeping?"

"Then tell her that it's an emergency!"

"But..."

"Happy..." Natsu growled, getting angry at his best friend.

"R-Right!" Happy jumped a little in surprise at the tone he used and flew away through the newly made hole in the Strauss home. Natsu sighed. He looked through the hole that he watched the black cloak hooded man take Mirajane away. "Don't worry...Mira...I'm going to save you...I promise..."

Levy yawned and stretched her arms up over her head. She turned her head to look at the time and saw that it was almost three in the morning. "Wow...so late..." She rubbed her eyes as they felt tired from all the reading she just did. 'I guess it would be time to go to sleep...' She decided and put her bookmark on the page she was on. She then closed the book and stood up to stretch again. As she headed toward the bathroom, she suddenly heard something hit her window. She jumped in surprise and slowly turned her head around. Her eyes widened when she saw Happy's face get stretched when he made contact with the window.

"Lwevy..." He said, his voice muffled by the window.

"Happy? W-What are you doing here?" She asked and went to her window to open it.

"Levy...Natsu needs your help..." At this, she let out a gasp.

"H-Huh? He needs my help? For what?" She asked.

"He said something about this spell being cast on him and told me to come get you because you could help him." He told her while floating in the air. Levy felt her cheeks get warm slightly. She then thought about the couple of times recently that he helped her and figured that this would be the perfect chance for her to help him instead of the other way around. She put on a look of determination and nodded her head. "I'll do it! I'm just going to get some stuff before we go, okay?" Happy nodded and watched as she gathered some books and materials before she told Happy to lead the way.

Natsu continued to struggle to try and get free from the magic spell. However, no matter what he did, it wasn't working. He hated feeling so useless, especially when he couldn't even use his own magic. Every minute that he was stuck like this made him agitated. Every minute made him worry over Mirajane. He knew that her magic didn't return yet. That happened when she fought against Fried. He also promised Elfman that he would protect her and yet here he was, stuck and couldn't stop the hooded man from taking her away. He failed him and knew that he wouldn't forgive him if something happened to her. His only hope is that Levy can find out how to break this spell.

"Natsu! I bought Levy!" He heard Happy's voice and grinned.

"Great job Happy!" He shouted and waited for Happy to bring Levy over to him. When he saw her blue colored hair, his grin widened. "Levy! I'm glad to see you!" At this Levy blushed. "Quick, I need your help getting this spell off of me." He said.

"This is..." Levy started as she examined the markings on his body.

"You know what this spell is?"

"No...but for some reason...I feel like I seen these marks before...but...I just can't remember where..." She frowned, trying hard to figure out where she saw the marks.

"But you can get rid of this spell, right?" He asked, hopeful.

"It might take some time though..." Levy answered truthfully. "...I first need to know what this spell is before trying to get rid of it."

"I understand...even thought we don't have much time...I'll trust that you can get it off of me..." Levy blushed again at the confidence he had in her and she nodded.

"Right...thank you Natsu." He nodded his head. "By the way...why are you in Mira and Elfman's house?" Natsu's body froze and it was not because of the magic spell. He didn't know why he got so tense because all he had to do was tell the truth. However, he had this feeling that something bad was going to happen if he told her. He wasn't sure what this bad feeling was though.

"Uhh...you see...when Happy and I went home, we found our house burned to the ground..." Levy gasped.

"W-What? H-How did that happen?"

"I don't know..." Natsu answered truthfully. 'But I have a guess on who did it...'

"So then what?"

"...oh...then me and Happy decided to camp out in the park because we didn't have money for a hotel, but then it started raining..." Both he and Happy lowered their heads.

"Wow...that's some bad luck..." Levy sweat dropped.

"Y-Yeah...but then Mira saw us and she took us in...but then..." Levy saw the change of tone in his voice as he frowned.

"What?"

"He suddenly showed up and took her away..." She gasped.

"Mira was kidnapped!" Natsu grit his teeth in anger at himself and nodded.

"Yeah...he said something about her being his bride or something and then put this spell on me...I have to get this spell off of me and go rescue her!" Levy couldn't help but admire Natsu. Although, she did also feel a different kind of feeling, one that she was not use to. She smiled even so.

"Don't worry, Natsu! I'll do my best!" Natsu grinned and nodded.

"Right! I'm counting on you, Levy!"

"Aye!"

Mirajane woke up. The first thing she saw was a pink colored cloth. 'H-Huh...where am I?' She wondered. She cringed slightly in pain as she felt a small headache coming. She then remembered what happened. She quickly sat up. "Oh no!" She looked around and saw that she was in a fairly large room that was surrounded by four white walls and two large windows. She felt something soft and looked down to see that she was on a mattress. She then noticed that she was on a canopy bed. 'W-Where am I?'

"You're finally awake." Mirajane gasped at the sound of a man's voice and turned her head to see a man wearing a black cloak standing in front of the only door in the room.

"W-Who are you? Where am I?" Mira asked.

"Don't be alarmed, my bride." He said and walked forward.

"Y-Your what...?" Mirajane asked in surprise.

"My bride. We are getting married later today." He told her. "That is why you are wearing that dress." Mirajane raised an eyebrow and looked at what she was wearing and her eyes widened. She was wearing a beautiful white wedding dress. In fact, she never saw a dress as beautiful as the one she was wearing at the moment. However, she forgot about her awe and looked back at the man. "W-What is this?"

"As I said, you are my bride...Mira..." He told her and leaned forward, pressing his knee onto the bed and put a finger on her chin. Mira tried backing away, but couldn't go far enough as she felt his fingers on her chin. "My beautiful bride..." She blushed slightly at his comment and at how close he was to her face. He still had his hood on, so she couldn't see his face, but she did see that the color of his hair was black as charcoal. He tried to lean in closer, and Mirajane didn't know why but she couldn't move. "Not yet..." He suddenly whispered. "...we will have our first kiss as a newlywed couple..." He told her and brushed his knuckles against her cheeks. He then pulled away and started heading toward the door. "You should get some rest...it's going to be a long day...my future wife..." With that, he left the room.

Mirajane didn't know what was wrong with her. Why couldn't she move when he leaned forward? He was just inches away from taking her first kiss! A sudden memory from before she lost consciousness resurfaced in her head. She almost kissed Natsu. Not only that, but Natsu was moving his head to kiss her as well. That means that Natsu was going to kiss her! She blushed. Her first kiss was almost taken by Natsu. She couldn't remember what went through her head when she asked him to kiss her. She could feel her heart beating faster at the idea of what could have happened if they weren't interrupted.

However, she quickly shook her head from such thoughts. Her first priority was to get out of wherever she was. She got out of the bed and hurried over to the door. She turned the knob, but the door was locked. She frowned. 'J-Just who is he...?' She wondered and turned around to look at the room she was trapped in. She looked over to where the two large windows were and saw that there were dark, reddish curtains in the way. 'Well...since the door isn't an option...I might as well try a window...' She nodded and walked over to one of the windows. 'I have to get out of here...or at least find some way to tell the others where I am...' She thought and put her hand on the curtain. She moved it out of the way and what she saw made her eyes widened and gasp in horror. "W-What the..." The first thing that struck her was the orange and red color of magma. "You got to be kidding me..." She didn't know if she was right or not, but she assumed that her current location was inside of a volcano.

Mirajane looked down to see if there was any way to escape using the window, but it was no use as the only thing she saw was the magma that was flowing below. She quickly let go of the curtain and backed away from the window. There was no way out. There was no way to inform the others of her current location. She was trapped. She was trapped in a room, wearing a wedding dress with a guy, who didn't reveal his face, telling her she was his bride. How could it get any weirder?

"You find anything yet?" Happy asked Levy as she searched through her books that she brought and wrote down some stuff on a piece of paper. She shook her head.

"No...I brought a lot of books that have rare magic spell listed in them, but nothing..." She frowned slightly, taking a breather.

"Oh..." Happy said looking at the books.

"The sun is rising..." Natsu pointed out as he saw the sun rise from the large hole.

"Right! We don't have time to waste!" Levy exclaimed pumping her fist. Natsu gaped at her before nodding her head. He saw Levy go back to finding information on the spell from the corner of his eye and just stared at the hole.

'Since I can't do anything, I might as well do that. Maybe I could gather my magic for the fight I'm pretty sure is going to be coming.' Natsu grunted and then closed his eyes.

Levy looked over at Natsu and saw him close his eyes. She remembered he did something similar back at the guild a while back. She remembered Happy calling it...

"Oh...hes meditating..." Happy hummed as he saw his best friend do just that.

"Does he always do that?" Levy asked.

"Not all the time, but it usually happens when he is going to be facing someone strong...I think he knows that in order to get Mira back he's going to fight that guy who took her." Happy answered.

"But I thought he couldn't use his magic because of the spell?"

"It doesn't really use any of his magic, but focuses his magic and stores it so that he can use it when he needs to." Happy explained. "Like this..." He said, putting on a bow tie, glasses and grabbing a pen and then illustrated what he was talking about.

"I see..."

"Aye!"

Levy looked back at Natsu and then smiled. 'Alright then...time for me to do my part...' She pumped her fist again and then went back to looking through her books.

Elfman yawned as he finally arrived back in Magnolia. The mission he took was rather easy for him. He hardly had to sweat to take care of some bandits and escort a a carriage through a canyon. He managed to get some sleep on the way back, but still felt tired. There was also the fact that there was just this bad feeling he had ever since last night. He didn't like it. He knew he should have headed home, but seeing as it was morning already, he knew his sister was already at the Guild, tending to the feeding of the other members.

When he arrived at the currently being constructed Guild, he headed toward the open air dining hall that was lightly soaked. He assumed that it rained last night and shrugged it off. When he got there, he noticed that his sister was no where to be found. He raised an eyebrow and walked over to Lucy, Erza and Gray, who were sitting on a table chatting amongst themselves. Gray was the first to notice Elfman's return.

"Yo Elfman! You back?" Gray raised his hand.

"Yeah..."

"How was the job?" Erza asked.

"Nothing a 'Man' like me can't handle!" He exclaimed hitting his chest with his fist.

"That's good..." Erza nodded her head.

"By the way, have any of you seen Nee-chan?" He asked.

"Actually no...she's usually the first one here, right?" Gray responded.

"Eh? She is?" Lucy asked surprised.

"Yeah. Ever since she lost her magic, she decided the best way to support the guild is by becoming the waitress and run the bar so she gets here really early." Gray told her.

"Wow...I didn't know..."

"Now that I think about it...I don't see Natsu or Happy anywhere either." At the sound of his name, Lucy blushed and frowned, while Erza got ticked off. When Gray noticed this, he felt nervous being around her.

"Well, I guess I could go see if she's home." Elfman scratched the back of his neck and started walking away.

"You know...Mira did seem a little off yesterday after Cana kissed Natsu...I wonder what that was about?" Elfman heard what Gray said and turned around.

"W-What?"

"Oh that's right, you weren't here. Yesterday the most surprising thing happened. Cana out of nowhere kissed Natsu." Gray told him as the two females flinched at the memory.

"Eh? Really? Why would she do that?" Elfman asked, walking back to the group.

"Like I know what goes on in that crazy woman's head." Gray told him.

"Says the guy who strips all the time...LIKE RIGHT NOW!" Lucy punched Gray as he was sitting next to her while only in his boxers. A love sick Juvia passed out at seeing her Gray in just his boxers from afar.

"But wait...what's this about Nee-chan?"

"Well, when she saw Cana kiss...Natsu..." Erza paused and blushed before continuing. "...Mira cried and then ran away." Elfman's eyes widened.

"W-What?" He looked at Lucy and she nodded her head. He clenched his fists and felt slightly angry at what he was just told. "I'm heading home." He told them. Lucy and Erza frowned as Gray rubbed his cheek.

"You know..." He began after Elfman turned a corner. "...I wonder if he and Mira talked to each other yesterday and maybe that's why they aren't here..." Both Lucy and Erza felt a jolt run down their spine at what Gray just said. They looked at one another before quickly standing up and running after Elfman. "Huh?" Gray blinked in confusion. "Ah! Wait for me!"

"Why are you three coming to my house again?" Elfman asked as he and the other three followed right behind him.

"You know...hehe...since we haven't visited you guys in a while..." Erza made up an excuse.

"Huh? Real- Gah!" Gray exclaimed after being elbow in the gut. "I mean...yeah...what she said..." He groaned.

"Me...I just want to see where you and Mira live..." Lucy chuckled, scratching her cheek.

"I see..." Elfman said and turned back around. 'Weirdos...' When the four arrived, their eyes widened and Elfman dropped his bag that he had over his shoulder to the ground. "W-What the hell happened?" He asked in disbelief at the large hole that was made. 'Wait a minute...this side is...' Elfman quickly took off. The others were right behind him. "Nee-chan!" Elfman shouted. "Ah..." He looked inside and was surprised to see Levy and Happy looking back at him.

"E-Elfman...h-hi..." Levy gave him a nervous smile and lifted her hand. The others arrived too and their eyes widened in both shock and confusion as they saw what Elfman did.

"L-Levy-chan...w-what are you doing here?" Lucy asked.

"W-Well you see...it's a long story but..." She began, nervously shaking her hands back and forth.

"Wait a minute! Why is Natsu here as well?" Erza asked, stepping forward.

"Forget all that!" Elfman suddenly roared and everyone turned to look at him. "Where is Nee-chan?" He growled in anger.

"E-Elfman...calm down...let me explain..." Happy tried to calm the much bigger man down before explaining what happened. He then turned to Natsu. "Natsu...wake up...they want an explanation..." He told his best friend. Elfman gritted his teeth in anger. He then charged toward them.

"Elfman! Wait a minute!" Lucy called out to him. He then suddenly grabbed Natsu by his scarf and raised him to his height.

"Damn it, Natsu! Where is Nee-chan!" He demanded an answer, but got nothing.

"Elfman...Natsu is meditating so he can't..." Happy told him.

"Shut up!" He bellowed and Happy made a face of horror.

"It's my fault..." Everyone made a sound of surprise as they turned toward Natsu to see him looking back at Elfman.

"Where is Nee-chan?"

"She was kidnapped..." At the sound of that, everyone except for Happy and Levy made a sound of surprise.

"What do you mean kidnapped!" Elfman asked.

"Last night...some guy made that hole and then kidnapped her..." He explained, staring at Elfman straight in they eyes to tell him that he was not lying.

"You were here...right?" He asked and Natsu nodded his head. "THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM!" He roared so loud that it made everyone of them cringe.

"I couldn't..." Natsu replied. His answer infuriated Elfman to the point that he punched Natsu in the face so hard that he punched him straight out of his grip and down tot he floor.

"Ah! Natsu!" The others shouted in shock as Elfman took heavy breaths and clenched his fists tightly. After the punch, Natsu didn't say anything nor move, since he couldn't do it anyway.

"What kind of answer is that!" Elfman yelled. "You promised...you promised to protect my sister and then this happens!"

"Eh? Natsu promised something like that?" Lucy asked Erza, but she was a surprised as Lucy was.

"E-Elfman...calm down...the reason Natsu couldn't do anything was because the magic spell the guy put on him." Elfman looked down at Levy and then back at Natsu. It was then that he realized that he had strange markings all over his body. He couldn't believe he didn't notice them before. He must have been too angry to notice. However, that still didn't excuse Natsu for letting his sister get kidnapped.

"That's still no excuse..." Everyone's eyes widened as those words did not come from Elfman, but from Natsu. "...I should have protected her. I should have kicked that guy's ass, but I didn't and it's all my fault...you have every right to hit me..." He continued. "However, taking your frustration out on me won't do anything except waste time. I can't move because of this spell he put on me, but you guys can go and rescue her while Levy tries to find a way to get rid of this spell."

"Yeah...but do you know where they could have taken her?" Gray asked, crossing his arms.

"I'm not exactly sure where...but I lost track of their scents about a several kilometers to the west of here." Natsu told them.

"S-Seriously...?" Gray asked in disbelief.

"Yeah ice boy...but I lost track of it because of some weird smell that was blocking their scents."

"Weird scent?" Erza asked.

"I'm not sure what it is, but that's all I know about where they could have gone. Also, there is one more thing I forgot to mention." Natsu said and Happy helped him back up to a sitting position. "He was talking about her being his bride or something like that."

"His bride?" Elfman asked.

"Yeah...you know something about that?"

"No...I don't recall..." He replied. "Wait...so you mean this fucker wants to marry Nee-chan and that's why he kidnapped her?"

"Yeah...that's what he was talking about."

"That bastard..." Elfman clenched his fists in anger. "Like hell I'm going to let him marry Nee-chan!" He then turned around and headed outside.

"Elfman! Wait!" Natsu shouted.

"Like you said I don't have time! I'm going to rescue Nee-chan!" Elfman shouted back.

"But you can't do it alone." He turned his head to see Erza giving him a reassuring smile. "We'll go with you." She said as Gray and Lucy nodded their heads.

"You guys..."

"Hey, Mira is our friend. She is a member of Fairy Tail. That's all the reason we need to get her back so that we could see her smiling and cheerful face again." Gray smirked.

"He's right, Elfman! Just leave it to us!" Lucy added, grabbing her key ring that she got back from Loke who ran away as soon as she gave it to him.

"T-Thank you..." He then turned to Natsu. "You better keep your promise!"

"You got it!" He smirked and nodded his head. The four looked at each other and nodded their heads before they ran off in the direction Natsu pointed them to. The pink hair Dragon Slayer then looked at Levy. "I'm counting on you."

"Right!" Levy nodded her head and then returned to looking through her books with Happy's help. Natsu closed his eyes and started meditating once more.

'Don't worry Mira...I'm going to rescue you...I promise!'

"It seems some of those Fairies are coming this way..." The man in the black hooded cloak spoke as he sat in his chair. He lifted his head slightly and looked at the two people standing in front of him. The three were in a very large room that looked like it belonged to a King, with a long red carpet that stretched to the seat where the man was sitting all the way to the door. There were several pillars on each side of the room and several large windows that were covered by the dark curtains that were similar to the ones in the room that Mirajane was held in. One of the two people standing in front of the man, a woman with blond hair that was tied in a pony tail, shifted her glasses. She wore a black shirt that showed off some of her cleavage and a black mini skirt and carried a long red staff on her back.

"Do you expect them to find this place?" She asked.

"That Salamander...he has a very strong nose...he was able to detect our scent to the point we reached this island. I'm guessing he lost track of us because of the ashes this volcano is emitting." He explained to her.

"So what? Like his friends could stop us..." The man next to the woman smirked. He had dark greenish hair that was shoulder length. He wore a reddish vest over his naked abdomen and long black colored pants. The most striking feature was the large scar that ran down his chest.

"Don't get too cocky..." The man cloak wearing man told him. "They may not seem much, but when it comes down to it they can find the will to win. So don't underestimate them, Kranos."

"Tch...whatever..." He closed his eyes and turned around.

"Freena...how is Gras doing with his little pet?" He asked the blond woman.

"Yes...he says that the Barukan (Vulcan) is hungry and ready in case of an attack that could disrupt the wedding."

"Good...Kranos...make sure your men are prepared..."

"Yeah, yeah..." He waved his hand and started walking away.

"Is there anything else you need?" Freena asked.

"No...not at the moment...I'll keep an eye on the Salamander through the markings I put on his body. As of now, he is still immobile so we don't have much to worry about." He answered.

"If I may ask, why is making sure the Salamander doesn't interrupt your wedding so important."

"It's because I saw the fight he had recently. I planned to get my beautiful wife during the commotion, but I didn't because I had to asses the abilities of Fairy Tail. Since I was able to get the data, I made sure that the Salamander would not be a nuisance to me. It's too bad removing the spell I cast is difficult since it was a spell that can't be found in any modern day book." He answered.

"I see...very well then...I will make sure the wedding would go smoothly." She told him and then turned around to walk away.

The man sighed and leaned his head on his fist. 'Soon...Mira...we will enjoy the rest of our lives together...and I won't allow anyone to stop this wedding...'

Elfman, Erza, Lucy and Gray followed Natsu's direction and ended up in a small port town. When they arrived, they split up to ask the civilians about any type of wedding. After an hour of asking, Erza was finally able to get some information from a sailor.

"Apparently, there is a wedding that's going to take place on an island not too far from here." She told the others.

"That's most definitely where Nee-chan is." Elfman exclaimed.

"Yeah, but there is a small problem..." She said and pausing before continuing. "...apparently, no one here is willing to take us to the island."

"Huh? Why?" Lucy asked.

"For one, there is an active volcano on the island. Not only that, but apparently there is someone there who doesn't let anyone on the island unless he is expecting them. Basically, the entire island is locked down for anyone." Erza told them.

"This guy...I'm guessing he might be the one who kidnapped Mira..." Gray concluded as Elfman clenched his fist.

"More than likely. The only way I could think of getting onto the island is by sneaking in." Erza stated.

"But how do we do that?" Gray wondered scratching his hair.

"I think I can be of some help." They all turned their heads to see Juvia make her sudden appearance.

"Ah...it's you..." Gray stated in shock, pointing a finger at her. She blushed and started fidgeting her fingers.

"Yes...Gray-sama..." She replied nervously.

"Who is she?" Lucy asked Gray.

"She was one of the Element Four...I think her name was Juv-something..." He replied.

"It's Juvia...Gray-sama..."

"Right, Juvia."

"So does that make her our enemy?" Erza asked.

"Ah! No...I'm no longer with Phantom...I-I'm thinking about joining F-Fairy Tail..." Juvia told them.

"Really?" Gray asked surprised and she gave him a nod, her face slightly red.

"You said you could help us...how?" Elfman asked.

"Yes...since the only way it is possible for us to enter the island is by sea, then all we have to do is get close to the island by boat and then swim to it." She explained.

"That's logical, but even if we do swim there, there is no reason to believe we won't get caught by swimming there much less take the boat all the way to the island." Erza stated.

"That's why we will swim underwater." There was a short pause.

"You do know we can't hold our breaths forever, right?" Lucy told her, sweat dropping.

"Yes...but with this we can." She raised her arm and opened her hand as a small bubble appeared above it. "With this, we can breathe underwater."

"Huh? Really?" Elfman asked as Juvia nodded her head.

"Care to try...G-Gray-sama...?" She nervously asked, pushing the bubble in front of him.

"W-Well...I guess there is no harm in trying..." He gulped and took the bubble from her. His forearm slightly brushed Juvia's hand, which caused the water mage to blush deep red and hold her hand close to her. Gray lowered the bubble down to his head and everyone waited for him to respond. He took a deep breath and his eyes widened. "W-Woah...I can breathe...this is pretty cool!" He stated as Juvia blush deepened at his compliment.

'G-G-Gray-sama complimented me...kyaaa...'

"I guess we found our way through..." Erza smirked.

"But we still don't have a boat..." Lucy frowned.

"We can just borrow one." Erza replied.

"I'm pretty sure by borrowing you mean stealing one..." Lucy sweat dropped.

"Hmm...where is Elfman?" Gray asked, suddenly not seeing the middle Strauss sibling anywhere. A sudden roar was heard and the group turned their heads to one of the ports and saw Elfman carrying a boat toward them before dropping it in the water in front of the group.

"We have a boat now." He stated, pointing at it. Everyone sweat dropped.

"Where did you get it?" Lucy asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"That kind man over there said I could borrow it." He pointed behind him to a man in the fetal position sucking his thumb. They sweat dropped once more. "Alright then...now that we have everything we need, we better go. We have to go save Nee-chan as soon as possible." He told them and hopped into the boat.

"Right!" The others cheered and joined him, before setting off toward the direction of the island.

"Alright...this is as far as we can go." Erza stated as she and the others stared at the island. They looked in awe at the large volcano that was located on the other side of the island.

"And it's supposed to be active...I don't like this..." Lucy whined.

"Man up Lucy!" Elfman told her.

"I'm a girl..."

"In any case, Juvia." Erza turned toward the water mage who was looking at Gray with hearts as eyes returned to normal and nodded her head.

"Juvia is on it." She raised her arms and creating multiple bubbles, enough for everyone. They each took one and lowered it onto their heads.

"Let's go!" Erza ordered and the group jumped into the water.

"Wow...you really can breathe in these bubbles." Lucy commented as she and the other swam toward the island.

"I advise you not to not waste your oxygen." Juvia told her.

"R-Right..."

'Nee-chan...don't worry...I'm coming to save you...I won't let anything happen to you...' Elfman thought as he was ahead of the others. They swam all the way towards the island and managed to find a small cave. They entered it. They swam through the long passageway before finally reaching the end. They resurfaced and were now in a cave.

"Do any of you see anyone?" Gray asked, surveying the area himself.

"No...it looks like the coast is clear." Lucy replied as Elfman helped her out of the water.

"It was a great thing you showed up Juvia. Otherwise well still be stuck wondering how to get on the island." Gray complimented her as she became flustered.

"I-I-It was nothing...Gray-sama..." She thanked him and then turned her head toward Lucy. "Gray-sama complimented me and not you."

"O-Okay..." Lucy sweat drop in confusion.

"Let's go." Erza told the others and they nodded their heads in agreement. The group ran deeper and deeper into the cave.

"I just don't get it...why would someone suddenly appear and kidnap Mira and suddenly declare her as his bride?" Gray wondered.

"I don't know...but I won't let that bastard marry Nee-chan!" Elfman replied.

"Are you sure you don't know anyone who would try to do this? Like from a previous job you went to or something?" Lucy asked.

"Not any job that I went to, that includes jobs that I went with Nee-chan. In any case, it doesn't matter who he is, I won't let Nee-chan marry anyone who I don't approve of!"

"You sound like an older brother instead of a younger one." Gray chuckled.

"Of course. I have to protect her no matter what!" Both Gray and Erza smiled, knowing what happened to his younger sister and how he had vowed to protect the only remaining family member he had left. They continued running up to the point they reached a crossroad.

"What should we do now? Split up?" Gray asked.

"I vote to be with Gray-sama!" Juvia suddenly raised her hand and then gave Lucy a glare.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lucy wondered, sweat dropping.

"Splitting up is the only option we have. We don't know what lies ahead so be careful. Me and Lucy will go left while you three go the other way." Erza told them. "Don't make any contact with anyone because we don't know who the enemy is and we don't want to attract any attention to us. Am I clear?"

"Right!" The group shouted and with that, they split up.

Mirajane was bored. There was nothing to do in the large room that she was kept in. She was trapped like a rat, but she wanted to do something to tell the others where she was. She had to at least learn something about the man who kidnapped her. The only problem was that there was nothing in the room except for the bed she was sitting on and a large mirror in the corner. There was no bookshelf that could have led her to a secret room or something. There wasn't even a closet. She sighed and then laid down on the bed. She stared up at the velvet and frowned.

'This all so confusing...just who is he?' She wondered. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember him. Maybe she didn't know him, but he knew her somehow. All of this was just one huge puzzle that she just couldn't piece together. She closed her eyes. Her mind was suddenly filled with thoughts of Natsu. She blushed slightly at the memory of almost kissing Natsu. She wondered exactly what could have happened if they did kiss. Mirajane knew that it was possible that it could have resulted into something that she had never done before. Then there was the possibility that it couldn't happen because of how clueless Natsu probably was about the subject. 'Natsu...'

Just the thought of the Dragon Slayer made her feel warm on the inside. She wondered if he was doing everything he could to save her. She knew he would, after all it's in his personality to help his friends. He was just that kind of person. That was just one of the things she loved about him. She felt her face get hot at the word love. Normally, someone like her would see other people in love and do whatever she could to make them realize their true feelings, but not once did she think of herself falling in love with somebody. Of course she wondered if she would ever find someone that she could fall in love with, but to think that Natsu would be the person sounds absurd. Yet, there was this feeling in her chest at that moment that told her something different.

She quickly sat up and sighed again. She looked around the room again, but it was just the same as it was a few minutes ago. She stood up and walked over to the mirror. She took a glance at herself in the wedding dress. She knew she must have looked beautiful in it, but wondered what other people would think. Natsu came up in her thoughts again and she couldn't help to wonder what he would think of her in the wedding dress. Would he say she was beautiful? Knowing Natsu he wouldn't compliment her like that, but she did remember the compliment he gave her about the way she laughed, so maybe there was hope. However, there could still be a possibility that he thought she didn't look good in the wedding dress. She hoped not.

The sound of the door knob made her look away from the mirror and toward the door. She watched as a woman with blond hair walked into the room. "Mira-san...he is requesting your presence." She told her.

"Who is he?" She asked.

"That is something you should ask him yourself. He is waiting for you." She replied and moved to the side to let her go first. Mirajane decided to do what she asked. It wasn't like she was going to go anywhere while staying in the room. Maybe she could try to sneak away from the woman. Mirajane began walking and exited the room and into a long hallway. She heard the blond woman's footsteps and from how loud they were, she knew that the woman was following very closely behind. It made it difficult for her to escape.

Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the door that the blond woman directed her too. Mirajane had no opportunity to escape. She sighed and then opened the door. She entered the large room and saw the man who kidnapped her. He was calmly sitting in a large chair. "Mira..." He whispered. "Feena, could you please give the two of us a moment."

"As you wish." Mirajane turned her head to see Feena walk out of the room and close the door behind her. She then turned her head around and saw that her kidnapper was walking toward her.

"What do you think of my home?" He asked.

"Who are you?" Mirajane asked, ignoring his question. He chuckled.

"Yes, I guess it is best if introduce myself to the woman who I will be marrying very shortly." He raised his arms toward his hoody. "Before I do this, I do not want you to be alarmed." He warned her and Mirajane furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. He then lowered his hoody and Mirajane's eyes widened in horror. She placed her hands on her mouth. "Your reaction is not surprising, but I want you to know that despite this, I am not a bad guy. My name is Magnus." He introduced himself before lifting his hoody back up. "I was born on this island..." He continued as he walked toward the window. "...my parents were killed during a volcanic eruption when I was eight and since then I despised this island. However, one thing I didn't despise was the volcano. I don't know what it was, but whenever I saw the magma...I felt tremendous power course through my body. I felt like just being around this volcano was like home. This is why I decided to build this home in the volcano. Of course I placed a magic spell so that this house doesn't get burned to a crisp in case the volcano erupts, so there is nothing for you to worry about that. My love for magma is also the reason why my face is how it is now."

Mirajane didn't know what to say. She definitely thought that the man was a weirdo, but she was never one to judge a person by their appearance or by their personality. She lowered her hand and gulped. "W-Why did you kidnap me?"

"Because you and I destined for each other, Mira." He replied.

"Why do you keep saying that? I never met you before." Mirajane frowned.

"I see...so you don't remember me." Magnus sighed and then turned around to face her. "It is understandable, after all, my face wasn't like it is now three years ago."

"Three years ago?"

"Yes...three years ago I met you for the first time. It was during a job request that you took on along with your brother and sister. During that job you met someone who admired strong mages like yourself once were. He became foolish and tried to help you on your job, but you kept rejecting his help. However, no matter how many times you told him no, he continued to follow the three of you. It was then that that person made a foolish mistake that almost cost him his life. However, you then saved his life. It was at that moment that the person fell in love with you. However, when he confessed, you rejected him because he was too young and were too weak for you. So, he decided to get stronger to the point where he knew he could be worthy of you. That someone...was me." He finished as Mirajane looked at him with widened eyes.

"You mean...that person was you!" She couldn't believe that the man sanding in front of her was the same person. She remembered that job because she remembered that someone confessed to her for the first time. She couldn't remember exactly who the person was, but she never would have expected that happy and enthusiastic boy was the man standing just a few feet from her. The man nodded his head.

"Yes...I do not hate you because you forgot about me. I also do not hate your change in personality. However..." There was a long pause before he started again. "...I became infuriated after something I saw." The tone in his voice changed to a deeper and angry one. "You started developing feelings for that Salamander!" Mirajane gasped softly. "I trained so long to make you acknowledge my strength since the first time I confessed to you. That day...at the cemetery...I saw you hugging that Salamander. I got angry. Angry at the fact that I, who trained for so long, was losing to that man. A man who doesn't deserve you. A man who is younger than you and is definitely not as strong as you once were. You, who rejected me because I was weaker than you and younger, started developing feelings for a man who was like me!"

"No...that's not true...I..."

"Stop it with the lies! I saw how you looked at him. You never looked at me like that! I worked so hard for you to finally accept my feelings for you. My face became like this because of my dedication to get stronger for you! But apparently it seems you found some one else." There was a short pause, at which Mirajane couldn't believe what she was hearing. All of a sudden, Magnus began chuckling. "However, there was no way I was going to let him take you away from me. That bastard doesn't deserve someone like you. I'm the only one worthy enough for you!"

"I..." Mirajane was speechless. What could she say? All of this left her in disbelief.

"You don't have to say anything. Soon enough we will have all the time to talk when we are finally betrothed to each other." He told her, raising his arms. "We will live happily together!" Mirajane was stunned. What could she say? Magnus became like this because of her. He became like this because she didn't accept his feelings. He made her feel so bad that she hated herself for turning someone like him into this. Every word that he spoke made her chest tighten in pain. "Of course I also made plans in case you refuse to marry me." He reached into his pocket and took out an orb. The orb suddenly emitted a light and a projection showed up above it. The projection was big enough for Mirajane to see and her eyes widened. "It seems I underestimated the nose of Salamander. He was able to tell your friends where to find us and they are currently on the island." He spoke as Mirajane watched as the projection showed Erza and the others. "I recommend you don't do anything to get out of this wedding or something terrible might befall your friends."

"M-Magnus...please don't do this...I'm sorry for everything..." Mirajane pleaded.

"To hear you say that Mira touches my heart. All you have to do is marry me and your friends will not be harmed." Mirajane bit her bottom lip. She knew her friends were strong. She was confident enough to know that her friends would be able to defeat anyone who stood in their way to save her. However, there was this bad feeling she had. She couldn't explain it, but she had been experiencing it ever since she entered the room. There was something about Magnus that she feared could be trouble for her friends. "Oh...it seems your brother is here." Mirajane's eyes widened as she looked up to see the image of Elfman on the projection. "Now then...this has become interesting...if I were you I wouldn't want anything to happen to your sweet little brother now would you, Mira?" She clenched her fists tightly.

"No...I don't..." Mirajane spoke softly.

"Does that mean what I think it does?"

"As long as you promise to not hurt them...I'll marry you." Mirajane told him.

"I see...very well then." The projection disappeared and he placed the orb back into his pocket. "Feena!" The door behind Mirajane opened and the blond woman entered.

"Yes?"

"Please take my beautiful bride back to her room." He ordered. "Oh...and don't lever her side until the wedding begins."

"As you wish." Feena responded and stepped to the side to let Mirajane walk through the door. Mirajane frowned and turned around. Feena closed the door behind them. Magnus took the orb out once more and the projection appeared again. "Kranos." The man from earlier came out of one of the pillars he hid behind. "Please escort our unexpected guests to the wedding hall and make sure you do it in under 20 minutes. After all, my wedding will begin in 30."

"Hehehe, as you wish."

Erza and Lucy were finally able to get out of the dark and moist cave and now staring at a large round bird nest. "W-What's with the giant nest?" Lucy asked, stunned.

"I don't know, but...I'm more surprised that the cave led us to a pretty high place." Erza walked toward the edge and saw the sea below.

"Yeah...it didn't feel like we were going up." Lucy turned her head back around to look at the way they came from.

"It doesn't look like we can do anything here. We should head back and go the other way." Erza told her and Lucy nodded her head.

"Yeah." The two ladies were about to head back into the cave, but they stopped when something large appeared behind them, covering the two with his shadow. They turned around and their eyes widened in horror. A large black bird glared down at the two as Lucy shook in her boots and Erza clenched her fists and matched the bird's glare with her own. The large bird had a large scar through his left eye. However, only a quart of it is seen as a metal plating was in front of his eyes and the brim of his nose, covering the rest of the scar. "W-W-What is that thing?" Lucy screamed.

"I don't know, but it doesn't look friendly." Erza stated and took out her sword, preparing for battle.

"Baru-chan! What are you staring at?" The two heard a voice and a boy around 12 years old appeared from behind the large bird.

"Eh? W-What's a little kid doing with that large bird?" Lucy eyes widened in shock. Hearing Lucy's voice, the boy turned his head toward her.

"Hmm? Who are those two ugly girls?" At the word ugly, both woman got angry.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING UGLY?" Lucy yelled.

"Waaah! Baru-chan! That ugly bimbo just yelled at me!" The boy cried and when he did, the large bird stretched out his wings and let out a mighty roar.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Lucy repeatedly shouted, while waving her arms up and down.

"Lucy! Calm down!" Erza told her as Lucy stopped. She clenched her sword tightly and waited for the large bird to make an attack. However, the bird didn't do anything and just returned to it's original position and glared down at the two. Erza was confused by this. "Why isn't it attacking?"

"Because I told him not to." They looked at the boy and he smirked.

"W-What?"

"Baru-chan is my friend and he only attacks when I tell him to." The boy answered. "So, who are you two?"

"We're guests that were invited to the wedding." Erza answered and Lucy nodded her head in agreement.

"The wedding...?" The boy lowered his head so that his eyes were hidden behind his brown colored short, spiky hair. "Oh! I see! You two must be friends of Mira-neechan!" He lifted his head and put on a large happy expression that included a wide grin.

"Y-Yeah...that's right..." Erza responded a bit dumbfounded at his sudden change of reaction.

"Why didn't you say so?" He exclaimed. "It's so nice to finally meet some of Mira-neechan's friends!" He continued. "It makes things a lot more easier..." His tone changed drastically as he narrowed his eyes at the two and smirked. "I've been ordered to capture Mira-neechan's friends..."

"Huh?" Lucy blinked in confusion.

"Baru-chan...capture them." The large bird let out a roar and flapped his wings to go airborne.

"Damn it!" Erza cursed and clenched her sword tightly as the large bird charged straight down at the two. Erza quickly grabbed Lucy's wrist and jumped away to avoid getting hit by the large bird's beak. The bird crashed into the ground and destroyed the area that Erza and Lucy were recently in.

"So strong!" The black bird raised it's head and looked at them. Lucy gulped and looked around only to see that they had no where to run. They were trapped. Erza, however, wasn't going to give up so easily. She quickly requipped into her Black Wing Armor. She flew toward the large bird and swung her sword. The black bird raised it's wing to defend itself from Erza's strike. Erza connected with a horizontal slash. She quickly turned around to assess the damage she had done, but her eyes widened when she saw her attack didn't even faze the bird's wings.

"I-Impossible..." The bird lowered it's wing and glared up at Erza.

"That won't work..." The kid exclaimed in a childish tone. "Baru-chan's feathers are so strong no attack can pierce through them!"

"We'll see about that!" Erza stated and charged at the bird again. "Black Wing: Moon Flash!" She slashed at the bird in a cross pattern. The bird raised it's wings and flapped them which resulted in a powerful gust of wind. Erza's attack was stopped and the scarlet knight shielded herself from the powerful gust. She gritted her teeth in anger as the gust settled down and she regained her composure. Her eyes widened when the bird suddenly flew toward her at an incredible speed and slapped her down to the ground with it's wing. "Gah!"

"Erza!" Lucy screamed in worry. 'I can't just sit by and watch...I have to help her!' Lucy quickly grabbed one of her keys and summoned one of her Celestial Spirits. "Open the Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!" She summoned Taurus who let out a loud roar. He then turned toward Lucy and his eyes turned to hearts.

"Ahh! Lucy you are wonderful as always especially your breasts! Moo!" Lucy sweat dropped at her perverted Celestial Spirit.

"Now is not the time Taurus! We have to help Erza!" Lucy told him.

"As you wish!" He exclaimed in excitement. He turned around and got serious as he glared at the large black bird. "Wait a minute..." He suddenly said.

"What is it?"

"I know this creature." He told her.

"Huh? You do?"

"Yes...he is known as the Barukan. A very dangerous creature that has terrorized a bunch of towns and villages in the south. What is it doing here?" He wondered.

"Well, that boy over there said that the bird is his friend." She replied pointing a finger at the brown haired boy.

"I see...that makes sense."

"Why?"

"The Barukan...even though this creature terrorized towns and villages, he never harmed kids. It's quite surprising."

"Why is that?"

"That I do not knooow." He mooed.

"If you know about him then that means that you know his weakness!" Lucy smiled, hoping.

"Hehehe...you underestimate me, Lucy..."

"So, what is it?"

"...I dooo not knoow."

"You idiot!"

"Lucy is so cruel...but even your cruel side is so wonderful." He danced perversely.

"Pervert..." She slapped her forehead.

"Oooh...so your a Celestial Spirit Mage! That's so cool! Too bad you're still and ugly bimbo!" Taurus felt a vein pop in his forehead at the boy's insult. He gave both the boy and the Barukan a glare.

"How dare you call Lucy's breasts ugly?" He roared.

"He never said anything about my breasts!" She yelled at her Celestial Spirit.

"Baru-chan! That cow yelled at me! Please take care of it!" The Barukan let out a mighty roar and flapped his wings again to blow a gust of wind at Taurus. Taurus stepped in front of Lucy and put his arms up to stand his ground against the gust of wind. Lucy did the same, but thanks to the protection from Taurus, she was able to hold her ground as well. When the gust of wind died down, Taurus grabbed his axe and charged at the Barukan.

"I will make you pay for insulting Lucy's san's breasts!" He roared.

"Would you stop that already!" He heard Lucy yell, but that gave him motivation to strike the Barukan.

"Take this!" He jumped and swung his axe down onto the bird's beak. He smirked, thinking he was able to deal some damage to the bird, but he was met with a piercing glare. The Barukan then slapped Taurus out of the way and into the volcano.

"Taurus!" Lucy shouted as she watched an unconscious Taurus fall down with some debris following him. However, Taurus gave Erza enough time to recover and deliver multiple slashes against the Barukan's neck. "Erza!" Lucy grinned. The Barukan roared not in pain, but in anger as he started pecking at Erza while she was still airborne. Erza did her best to evade each of his attack as best as she could, but it was difficult for her because she was in the air. Lucy watched in horror as the beak of the Barukan nailed Erza right in her abdomen. The blow sent her crashing to the ground just in front of Lucy. "Erza!" Lucy cried out and ran toward her comrade. She knelt down and Erza struggled to sit up.

"Is that really all you got?" The boy whined. "This is boring...I guess I might as well just capture you guys." The boy raised his right hand and a magic circle appeared in front of it. Erza and Lucy didn't know what he was going to do until they suddenly couldn't move. They looked down and their eyes widened as the same strange markings that they saw on Natsu appear on them.

"T-This is..." Erza gritted her teeth.

"Yep! It's the same spell that aniki put on that dragon boy." The boy exclaimed childishly. "Now you are captured! Yay!"

"Damn it..." Erza gritted her teeth in anger. She couldn't believe she lost and worse got captured by the enemy. 'Hopefully...the other three didn't get caught...'

Gray, Elfman and Juvia were as stealthy as anyone can be. However, it wasn't until they met with a certain someone that their stealthy ways were no longer effective. "Damn it...what the hell is with this guy?" Gray groaned as his magic was doing nothing against him.

"It's like hes predicting our attacks." Juvia stated.

"Is that even possible?" Gray asked in shock.

"I heard rumors that there are some mages who have the ability to see a couple of seconds into the future...but I thought they were just rumors." She added as the two of them watched the man dodge Elfman's beast arm fluidly.

"Damn you! Take this!" Elfman roared, trying to land a single punch against him.

"You really are an aggressive one..." Kranos chuckled. "It's too bad your aggressiveness is one of the reasons why you will never be able to hit me."

"Screw you!" Elfman shouted. Kranos sighed and slipped tot he side to avoid another punch. He then grabbed Elfman's beast arm with his right hand, gripped it tightly and then raised his left hand and did a backward clothesline that made Elfman do a back flip straight to the ground. "To think that you are her little brother. I swear, I heard stories of how powerful your sister was so I assumed that you were at least as strong as her. Too bad you disappointed me."

"Bastard..." Elfman pushed himself up with his arms and glared at Kranos.

"If I were you, I'd shut up and stay still." He pushed him back down to the ground with a foot and then raised his arm to cast a spell. Juvia and Gray watched as the same markings found on Natsu were appearing on his body.

"It's that spell again..." Gray whispered.

"Now then, are you two going to come peacefully...or do I have to kick your asses." Gray and Juvia stared at him.

"Sorry...but I don't plan on getting captured." Gray replied, getting into position to cast his ice make magic.

"Juvia will also not get captured...unless it involves getting close to Gray-sama..." She blushed while holding her cheeks.

"I can make that happen if you want." Kranos told her.

"Really!"

"Would you cut it out?" Gray shouted in annoyance.

"I'm sorry...Gray-sama..." Juvia apologized.

"So...should I just place the spell on you two or will you do the stupid thing and try to defeat me. I don't care either way, but I would like to save you two some embarrassment." Kranos told them. "Then again...seeing as you are in your boxers I don't think you can get any more embarrassed."

"Gah! When did I undress!" Gray shouted looking down at his boxers. Juvia looked his way and her face got so red that she fainted. "Ah!" Juvia!"

"Hmm...well I guess you are the only one left." He looked at Gray.

"Damn it...can I just get my pants...?" He asked nicely, raising his hand to signal time out.

"Go ahead..." Kranos replied as he waited for Gray to get his pants back.

"Alright then! Now we can fight." Gray told him as soon as he was done putting his pants on.

"Fine...just make sure you make it interesting for me." Kranos smirked and motioned Gray to come at him.

"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray shot out multiple lances at Kranos. He smirked and fluidly dodged every one of them. "Damn it..." Gray muttered in annoyance. "Ice Make: Floor!" He slammed his hand down on the ground to freeze it. Kranos jumped up to avoid getting trapped by the ice. He landed on his feet and took a feeling toward the ice.

"I see what you are trying to do...you think that by freezing the floor you could..."

"Ice Make: Geyser!" Kranos looked down to see the ice start to shaking. He quickly jumped back as the ice rose up from the ground. Kranos steadily landed on his feet.

"That was close. Interesting...unlike that brute over there you actually think about what you do before acting." He complimented the ice make mage. "Although...its too bad you have to face someone like me. If it wasn't anyone else, you probably could have defeated them by now."

"Oh...and what makes you so special?" Gray asked, hoping he would tell him the secret to his technique.

"Me? A lot of things. Some good, some bad. I guess if I had to describe myself in one word...I'd say...strategic."

"Strategic?"

"Well, I do have a brilliant mind when it concerns forming a plan to defeat somebody. Yet, no one would know that because of the way I look and my somewhat spontaneous personality."

"That doesn't explain how you are able to dodge our attacks so easily."

"Oh that...I could tell you, but even if I do it wouldn't matter."

"Oh and why not?"

"Because just as that woman said, I'm able to see a few seconds into the future." Gray's eyes widened. "Like for example, you planned on using this magic spell called Ice Make: Saucer while I spoke to catch me off guard." Gray's eyes widened. He was right. He really could see into the future. This was bad.

"Damn it...oh well1 Won't know until I try! Ice Make: Saucer!" Gray pointed his hands forward and created a large oval shaped figure in front of him. The saucer started to spin and was then launched at Kranos.

"Just like I knew it..." He sighed. "Sorry, but I'm tired of this." He raised his arm and stopped the saucer in its track.

"You got to be kidding..." Gray muttered in shock. Kranos then redirected the saucer as it crashed into one of the walls in the cave.

"Now then..." Gray didn't know how it happened, but Kranos suddenly appeared in front of him, his arm raised and a magic circle appearing in front of his hand. Suddenly, Gray couldn't move and if he looked down, he would be able to see the same markings on Elfman's body appear on his.

"C-Crap..." Gray gritted his teeth in anger.

"You see how easy that was." Kranos sighed. He then walked over to Juvia and cast the same spell on her, but it probably wouldn't have mattered as she was knocked out.

"Damn it! What the hell is this spell?" Gray yelled.

"Ah! This spell is very unique. I don't know much about it, but Magnus taught us this spell in case something like this might happen." He told him.

"Magnus?" Gray asked.

"Yeah...he's the one who is going to marry that guy's sister." He pointed toward Elfman.

"What!" Elfman shouted.

"Calm down! All of you will be attending the wedding. Of course with the spell on you. I'm pretty sure Gras was able to deal with your other friends." He stated, making Gray and Elfman gasp in shock.

"What? Erza and Lucy also got captured?" Gray couldn't believe it.

"Well, I can't blame them. After all, that bird of his is such a pain." Kranos rubbed the back of his neck.

"Bird?"

"You'll see soon. Now then, let's get going. The wedding starts in ten minutes or so."

"Mira-san...it is time..." Feena told her. Mirajane looked at her before nodding her head. She stood up and started following Feena out of the room. Mirajane couldn't believe what was happening. She was going to get married and what's worse was that she was getting married not because of love, but because she did something stupid. She wasn't ready for something like love three years ago. She rejected him not because of those two things, but because she wasn't too sure about being in love. Now that same boy who confessed to her was forcing her to marry because of what she said to him. She wished she could take it back.

She was also getting married so that she could protect her friends. The friends who came to rescue her. She was doing this for Elfman. So that he wouldn't get hurt. There was never a day that went by that she wished she had her powers back. If she did, then she could fight against Magnus. However, she couldn't feel her magic. She was weak and she knew this was the only thing she could do.

Mirajane stopped when Feena was at a large door. She opened it and when she did, a bright light made her shield her eyes with her arm. When her eyes adjusted, she saw that the door led outside. What was surprising was that it didn't look like she was anywhere near a volcano. There was a white stoned path in front of her with jars of various different flowers on each side. There was stone white pillars in between each jar. "This is..."

"Follow me." Feena told her and Mirajane did as she asked. Mirajane and Feena were following the path that had a small little climb before stopping in front of a door. Feena turned around and walked toward her. Mirajane didn't know what she was going to do, until she watched her reach toward the veil and lowered it so that it could cover her face. Mirajane watched as she raised her arm and a bouquet of flowers appeared in her hand. She then handed her the flowers. "You should feel honored." She suddenly said.

"Huh?"

"Nothing..." Feena closed her eyes and turned around. "When the music starts playing, you will enter through this door. There will be some stairs to climb, but no matter what happens or what you see, you must keep climbing the stairs. Am I clear?"

"Y-Yes..." Mirajane responded.

"Very well then." After about a minute of waiting, wedding music started playing. Feena opened the door and motioned her to enter. Mirajane gulped and clenched the bouquet in her hands before beginning to walk forward. Mirajane saw the stairs and started climbing them. A lot of things were going through her mind as she walked up the steps. She was getting married. She never had a first date nor even kiss anyone and she was already getting married. Everything was moving so fast and the worse thing about it was that she was marrying someone who was obsessed with her and not in a good way. To say that she deserved this after what she told the man she was marrying, she would have to agree with it.

As she got one step closer and closer, she started seeing people. She eyed them and saw people she never met before. She guessed they were guests invited by Magnus. She wondered if her friends were okay. She told Magnus that she would marry him as long as he didn't harm them, but she wanted to see them to make sure he kept his promise.

Meanwhile, Magnus waited patiently for his bride. He was wearing a black suit as his face was seen by anyone who was there with him. Next to him were his best men, Kranos and Gras. He turned his head toward Gras who was also wearing a suit. "Is Barukan where he is supposed to be?"

"Yes he is, Mag-chan!" As you asked, he is making sure no one interrupts your wedding by sneaking in from the air." Gras told him.

"Good." Magnus responded. He then turned his head to the unexpected guests that he ordered Gras and Kranos to capture. He saw Elfman giving him a glare. "Why do you look so mad, soon to be brother in law?"

"You bastard! How dare you capture Nee-chan and force her to marry you!" He yelled.

"I see you don't remember me. It doesn't matter. We'll get to know each other very soon." He said and then looked at the others and saw them staring at him weirdly. He knew the reason why. "I know you were raised better than to stare at someone with those faces."

"S-Sorry..." Lucy apologized and looked away. 'His face...what in the world could have happened to it?'

Magnus then saw something white appear and as soon as he saw her, he was mesmerized by her beauty. Mirajane looked absolutely beautiful to him in her wedding gown. Sure he seen her before with it, but it felt so much different now that she was going to join him in the altar.

Elfman and the others turned their heads and their eyes widened. All of them blushed at the sight of Mirajane in the wedding gown she wore. "W-Woah..." Gray couldn't help but say. Juvia would have gotten depressed that her beloved was looking at someone else with those eyes, but she couldn't keep her eyes off of Mirajane.

'She looks so beautiful...' Lucy couldn't help but admire Mirajane in the wedding dress. 'Maybe one day I can...'

"Nee-chan..." Elfman whispered in surprise. Erza was just speechless.

Mirajane turned her head and her eyes widened in shock at seeing her friends. She wanted to see them, but not in the situation they were in. She remembered Feena's instructions and just looked back at Magnus. She starting walking again. She stopped in front of the alter as Magnus stood next to her. "You look beautiful...Mira-san."

"You promised to not hurt my friends." She replied.

"I didn't. I never laid a hand on them. Besides, I thought it would be nice if you had people you knew at your wedding." Mirajane bit her bottom lip and frowned. Both of them took a step forward as a priest came out from behind the arches in front of them that was just above the volcano. Mirajane guessed they must have built something just above the crater for the wedding.

The priest cleared his throat. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join together this Man and this Woman in Holy Matrimony." (Apparently the entire thing is very long to write, but I'll shorten it to save you guys the trouble of reading it.)

"Don't do this, Nee-chan!" Elfman yelled. Mirajane slightly flinched but remained her composure.

"Do you, Magnus, take this woman as your lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?"

"I do." He quickly answered.

"Do you, Mirajane Strauss, take this woman as your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?"

Unlike Magnus who responded quickly. Mirajane hesitated for a moment and clenched the bouquet of flowers in her hands tightly. Her friends waited to hear what she would say. "I-I do..." Elfman couldn't believe what he heard. Why was his sister doing this? He knew that bastard had to do something. He must have been forcing her just like he thought he was. If it wasn't for this sealing spell he would punch the living shit out the guy.

"The rings please." The priest asked Gras as he nodded his head and picked up the pillow with the rings on it. Lucy and Erza glared at the little kid, who noticed their glares and just stuck his tongue out at them. "Repeat after me." He told Magnus. "With this ring, I thee wed."

"With this ring, I thee wed." He took one of the rings and lifted her hand to put the ring on her ring finger.

"Mirajane Strauss. With this ring, I thee wed."

"W-With this ring...I-I thee wed..." She hesitated and took the other ring. She raised Magnus' hand and put the ring on his ring finger. Again, the others couldn't believe what was happening.

"No...Mira..." Gray whispered in shock.

"Don't do this Mira!" Erza yelled.

"Nee-chan!"

"If any man can show just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace." The priest said and Elfman was about to be the one to do it until the priest looked at them. "Anyone besides the five of you over there."

"What!" Elfman shouted in shock. He couldn't believe what the priest just said.

The priest waited a few more seconds before continuing. "I now pronounce you man and wife...you may kiss the bride." Magnus and Mirajane turned toward each other. He slowly lifted the veil as Elfman and the others were protesting and shouting as loud as they could. Mirajane looked at Magnus and he started to lean forward. Mirajane couldn't do anything. She couldn't fight back, nor could she reject him, fearing that if she did, he would hurt her friends. As he was getting closer and closer to kissing her, only one person entered her mind. It was a familiar pink haired dragon slayer.

'Natsu...help me...'

Their lips were just inches away before a sudden crash interrupted their moment. Magnus pulled away and everyone turned their heads to see where the crash happened and it was just below the last step on the stairs that Mirajane took. "What happened?" Magnus yelled, getting pissed that something interrupted his wedding.

"It seems like something fell from the sky." Kranos replied.

"That's impossible, Kra-chan!"

"Please don't call me that."

"Baru-chan is guarding the skies so there is now way something could have fallen from the sky!" He told him and then ran toward the incident. When he got there, his eyes widened in horror as the dust cleared. "B-B-Baru-chan! W-What happened, Baru-chan!" He cried hysterically as the large black bird was knocked out on the stairs.

"W-What?" Magnus was shocked as much as Gras was.

"That black bird...was defeated?" Lucy couldn't believe it. "Who could have done it?" She looked at Erza and saw that she had a smirk on her face.

"Only one person we know could have done this..." Just as she said that, something else fell from the sky and crashed down right in front of Magnus and Mirajane. Both of them had their eyes widened as they saw a familiar pink colored hair in the small dust cloud that appeared with his arrival.

"Y-You..." Magnus was able to get out before the pink haired man delivered a strong right punch at the man's face, blowing him by the priest and into the archway, sending the stone arches crumbling down along with him.

"Hey asshole! Ready to get your ass kicked!" Mirajane couldn't help the tears that started forming in her eyes as the one person she hoped would arrive and help her, did. She dropped the bouquet of flowers and put her hands to her mouth, happy seeing the pink haired Dragon Slayer.

"N-Natsu! Arigatou!" She thanked him as she started crying. The others watched with cheerful faces.

"Don't forget about us!" A new voice appeared as everyone except for Natsu looked up to see Happy flying down toward them, carrying Levy who was waving her hand toward the others.

"Happy! Levy-chan!" Lucy exclaimed with a wide grin as Happy descended down toward them and dropped Levy onto her feet.

"Lulu-chan! Everyone! Don't worry! I finally was able to find a way to get rid of the spell!" She told them.

"Really?" Gray asked as she nodded her head. "That's awesome Levy!"

"Gray-sama praised someone else besides Juvia..." She cried in disappointment.

"Alright here we go!" Levy opened the book in her hand and started chanting something. When she finished, a large magic circle appeared under them and a few seconds later, the markings on their body was gone and they were able to move again.

"We can move!" Elfman stated, opening and closing his hand.

"Well done, Levy." Erza complimented the blue haired girl who sheepishly chuckled.

"Thank you!"

"Huh? Who are you?" Happy asked Juvia.

"Umm...I'm..."

"She's a friend Happy..." Gray told him.

"Oh...hi there! I'm happy!" He greeted her and she smiled.

"Hello there...I'm Juvia."

"Nee-chan!" Elfman shouted and ran toward his older sister.

"Elfman!" Mirajane turned around and ran toward him before giving her younger brother a hug.

"It's going to be okay." Elfman reassured her. "Everything is going to be alright." He felt himself smile over the fact that he was able to reunite with his sister. He then raised his head to look at Natsu who was staring at the rubble that punched Magnus into. "Natsu..."

"What is it?" He asked, not turning his head.

"Kick his ass!" Natsu smirked and then raised his arm, giving Elfman a thumb up.

"You got it! I'll let you guys take care of the others." He told them and they nodded their heads. He then walked toward the rubble. "Hey asshole! I know you're not dead! Get up so I can kick you ass more!"

"Hehehehe..." He chuckled as he came out of the rubble, moving debris out of his way. "...it's time for us to finally fight...huh, Salamander?" He said. Natsu made a noise in surprise when he took a closer look at the man's face.

'What the hell is up with his face...it's almost like...half of his face was melted off...' (Picture Two-Face from Batman, but not as gruesome)

"You know...you really shouldn't have done that...do you realize how much I had to go through to make this happen...and then you came and ruined everything!" He yelled. "It just pisses me off seeing your disgusting face!"

"Like you should be talking." Natsu stated.

"Oh boy...you shouldn't have said that..." Kranos sighed and put a hand to his forehead.

"You think I wanted my face to turn up like this!" He roared in anger. "My face became like this because of you!"

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about? I never met you before." Natsu told him. Magnus simply chuckled.

"Of course you didn't...I don't have time to explain...let me tell you ask you something Salamander...what is more powerful and hotter than flames?" He asked.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" It was at that moment that the weird feeling about Magnus that Mirajane had before returned and became ten times worse.

"Let me give you a hint...the answer is the thing is below us."

"Huh?" Magnus smirked and then clenched his fists. He then let out a mighty roar as his legs and arms started melting. "W-What the?" Natsu's eyes widened in surprise.

"Behold...Salamander! The power of magma!" He yelled as his legs and arms became magma.

"What the hell?" Natsu was speechless as the man raised his magma arm and then pointed it at Natsu. Natsu dodged the attack as Magnus slammed it down onto the ground just in front of the others. They backed away as the magma began flowing down to the ground. Natsu looked back at what was happening and looked down at the flowing magma. He realized to late at what Magnus was trying to do. "Oh crap!" The magma melted the ground as half of it started to descend down toward the crater of the volcano. Natsu started falling along with Magnus and the ground down toward the crater as everyone else watched. Mirajane looked on with eyes of horror.

"NATSU!"

To Be Continued...
- 18
- 19
- 20
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Time is the Path to Strength